Mitt Romney earned a big political thumbs-up Friday from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who praised the former Massachusetts governor for talking straight with voters in his speech on health care.

Romney has faced blowback from the right over his Thursday address in Michigan, where he outlined his views on health policy and refused to apologize for enacting universal health care legislation as governor.

Instead, Romney defended the law he signed — which includes a mandate on individuals to purchase health insurance — as a policy that was “right for the people of my state.”

In a statement to POLITICO, Christie applauded Romney for that approach, though Christie stopped well short of endorsing the Massachusetts policy itself.

“Gov. Romney’s speech yesterday was just the type of tone we need,” Christie said. “While folks may not agree with what he said, that type of candor is what Americans expect from a serious presidential candidate today.”

The warm words from Christie will bring welcome relief to Romney, whose speech drew harsh reviews from other prominent conservative voices. The Wall Street Journal published back-to-back editorials Thursday and Friday blasting Romney’s record on health care and panning his speech as an ideological “daredevil act.”

But to the average Republican primary voter, Christie’s approval may matter more. The Garden State governor has become a hero to many in the GOP thanks to his reputation as a plain-spoken, principled conservative who sticks to his core beliefs.

For Romney, who was effectively branded as a flip-flopper during his 2008 presidential run, the message that he’ll stick to his views even if they’re unpopular could be a helpful one.

During his speech in Michigan, Romney played up the idea that he was sailing against the political winds.

“A lot of pundits around the nation are saying that I should just stand up and say this whole thing was a mistake,” he said of the Massachusetts health care law. “I presume that a lot of folks would conclude that if I did that, that would be good for me politically. But there’s only one problem with that: It wouldn’t be honest.”